Every year, the Austin Chamber and SXSW host the Austin A-List Awards, which celebrates and promotes Austin’s top innovative, homegrown companies and leaders. The event highlights both tech and non-tech companies.

Austin is home to a unique and collaborative business community. We are working to highlighting them in a variety of ways including through a commitment to make A-List an enduring honor by staying in touch with and highlighting our winners throughout the year.

As we approach this year’s Austin A-List Awards on May 23 at ACL Live @ the Moody Theater, we are looking each week at a different 2018 winner.

When selecting winners, our judges evaluate nominees on the following criteria:

Innovation: How novel/innovative is the company’s core idea?
Achievability: How achievable/practical is the idea? Can it be delivered?
Sustainability: Is the company sourcing properly with thoughts on its impact to the environment?
Growth: Will the company scale over time?
Leadership: Does the company have the right leadership to execute?

2018 Start-Up Winner: Compassionate Cultivation

Compassionate Cultivation sends along the following update:

Texas medical cannabis provider Compassionate Cultivation has continually expanded patient services since the company was honored with the 2018 Austin A-List designation, and is currently serving more than 75 percent of all patients in the Texas Compassionate Use Program. We’ve developed new CBD product offerings, including a convenient oral spray, and have a robust statewide delivery service, with our drivers covering thousands of miles every month to ensure patients have reliable access to medicine they depend on. Our cultivators created the first proprietary medical cannabis strain in Texas, called Waterloo in homage to our deep Texas roots. We also perform extensive outreach within the medical community and at the Austin Capitol to inform and educate about cannabis research and the ways medical cannabis can improve the quality of life for patients with debilitating medical conditions, and the importance of regulation of CBD products in the interest of public health and safety. Overall, 2018 was a milestone year for Texas medical cannabis and the patients we serve, and we look forward to continued company growth as we increase our staffing and expand operations.

Know an awesome candidate for 2019 Austin A-List Awards? Help us discover and promote the very best Austin has to offer. Nominate here.